Breaking Down the Personal Financial Advisor Salary

According the the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Personal Financial Advisor Salary in 2015 was $89,160. The top ten highest paying cities are listed here.

The Personal Financial Advisor salary can provide for a comfortable standard of living no matter where you are.

According to U.S. News & Report, they’re ranked fourth in terms of professionals with the best business jobs.

This ranking is based on their ability to offer an elusive mix of services as well as how much they earn.

In fact, compared to other business personalities, personal financial advisors tend to have a pretty good living.

Personal Financial Advisor Salary

According to 2015 data by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual salary of personal financial advisors was $89,160. While the lowest earners made $39,300 per year, the highest earners received over $187,200.

These figures shouldn’t fool you; a majority of these professionals earn substantial bonuses that may at times be as high as or more than their annual salaries.

Specifically, those who meet certain thresholds set by the firm like gaining high net worth clients, selling proprietary financial products and years of experience will receive incentive bonuses.

Also, your assets under management (AUM) will determine how much fee-based income you’ll generate. It’ll usually be 1 to 2 percent of your AUM.

Best Paying Cities:

It’s no secret that every personal financial advisor’s dream is to earn the highest figure possible. However, many don’t get a chance to for firms don’t pay the same, bonuses vary and well, some states and cities pay better than others.

Top Employment Levels for Personal Financial Advisors

Employment levels are high near popular financial districts. New York, of course, has the largest population in the financial industry thanks to Wall Street. Other areas like Chicago and Los Angeles are where advisors can see growth as well.

How to Become a Personal Financial Advisor

Becoming a personal financial advisor requires a lot of time and dedication. If you feel you have good interpersonal skills, are motivated and love anything to do with finance, this might be a good career to consider.

Below are common sense steps to achieving that goal:(Feel free to click on the image to view a larger version. And Pin it here: )

Reasons Behind Massive Variance in Pay:

You may be asking yourself, how is it possible for a personal financial advisor salary to range from $35,500 while another is earning $187,199? Well, there are a couple of reasons. Some of them include:

Skill: The more skills you have, the more valuable you’ll be to your employer and client. Skills, including communication and analytical skills, are bound to make one earn more. You can develop these traits through training programs offered by your firm, conferences and, perhaps the most important, practice.

Experience: Overtime, as you gain more experience, you’ll learn what works and what doesn’t. You’ll find that a majority of those earning less than $40,000 encompass interns and trainees whereas those earning over $150,000 encompass those with 5-10 years of experience.

Education Background: Though your school performance doesn’t matter as much, when starting your career, you’ll notice that those with college degrees and especially business management degrees, and those with MBAs, earn more.

Licenses: Licenses also play a key role in determining how much you’ll be earning. This is because without some of these licenses, you cannot be allowed to operate as a personal financial advisor. These include but are not limited to Series 7, 24, 63 and 66 licenses. Pursuing more licenses will allow you to sell more financial products to clients which increases the amount of fees, commission and bonuses you receive.

You Determine your Value

Most importantly though is one’s ability to sell, also having an established network, being tenacious and developing a thick skin.

This is because despite it being a highly lucrative and rewarding career, it still remains one of the most challenging.

Judging from this personal financial advisor salary breakdown, we can attest that there’s no fixed salary for a personal financial advisor; for one’s salary is dependent on a couple of factors.

Therefore, to be at the top, you have to be smart, aggressive, experienced and be willing to give it your very best.

Available Personal Financial Advisor Jobs

Below you’ll find open positions for FA’s in the nation. Some are listed as “Remote” or “Telecommute”meaning providing financial advice online.